I just finished compiling my 2021 playlist for The Infinite Playlist Project. This collection of songs was the soundtrack for: blogging for 100 days in a row sending my best friend and his wife flowers to celebrate the birth of their kids getting drunk and praying during an assault on the US Capitol finishing aContinue reading “the 2021 playlist project”
Category Archives: life
don’t waste the good days
Stolen from Seth Godin’s blog: If you’re feeling creative, do the errands tomorrow. If you’re fit and healthy, take a day to go surfing. When inspiration strikes, write it down. The calendar belongs to everyone else. Their schedule isn’t your schedule unless it helps you get where you’re going.
lessons learned in 2021
It’s become my practice to spend the last day of the year reflecting on what I’ve learned over the last twelve months. Here are a few of my favorites lessons: Create from the heart, never the head. You get to the best parts of yourself on accident. The job of an artist is to orchestrateContinue reading “lessons learned in 2021”
a christmas card for you
Every year, I send out Christmas cards. It’s become a tradition to record a few songs on my guitar and share them with my loved ones. The album I make becomes not only a way to reflect on my year, but also the means to practice making art as a gift, prioritizing the process overContinue reading “a christmas card for you”
two kinds of people
There are two kinds of people in this world. There are people who say what they’re going to do. And there are people who do the things they say. The most difficult choice we face is deciding which one we want to be.
the work
A few years back, I joined a men’s group hosted at a church in Los Angeles. We meet weekly to discuss our lives, our faith, and our understanding of the world. We often read poetry as a means to get the conversation moving. This group has become precious to me. Every so often, we’ll tradeContinue reading “the work”
notes taken during a creative failure in progress
You get to the best parts of yourself on accident. Your job as an artist is to orchestrate those accidents. After all, it’s always better when your unconscious does the work.
stepping through the door
While it could certainly be described as pretentious, narcissistic, or even masturbatory, the Netflix documentary, Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond really shook me. Featuring unreleased behind-the-scenes footage, the documentary explores Jim Carey’s process of becoming Andy Kaufman for the 1999 film, Man on the Moon. While recounting his experience, Carey offers a thought-provoking reflectionContinue reading “stepping through the door”
happiness is not bullshit
I was struck by a brief exchange in Ann Lamott’s episode of The Midnight Gospel, which quickly dispels the myth of the tortured artist. “I felt terror that if I stopped drinking, I would never write again,” Lamott muses. “Because I needed the misery. Because I needed that edge. And I needed the shame andContinue reading “happiness is not bullshit”
a question on my mind
“What are the best parts of yourself?” “How do you get to them?”
joshua chamberlain 